User blog:HazelQuill7445/Hazel met Jeff and Casey at Tugg Vol 3
Well, let’s start with idiot Hazel, because Hazel did not recognize Jeff Williams right away. But we’ll get to that later. I'll try not to ramble, but I'm terrible at that when it comes to telling a true-to-life story! Part 1: Arrival I took pictures of all the cosplayers, because someone told me there wouldn’t be any there. So, ha. Also, I got almost all their names while introducing myself as Hazel to everyone, because why not? Everyone got there early and there was a lot of wandering around. The ticket situation was a bit messed up and we all ended up having to look for our names on a 5-page printed list and checking it off. Amongst all the picture-taking and chatting, and “Thanks for liking my RWBY shirt,” I did pass and smile at some long-haired dude with beer in a plastic cup that I’d see later inside the theater. It was mostly filled up in the center, so I got a seat second row from the back. Holy crap, those seats. I wanted to take pictures of them, too. Spacious, comfy faux leather, a press of a button reclines your seat and lifts your legs, a cup holder for each hand. To my left were three guys who’d done this whole thing all before, weren’t expecting anything to start on time, and were expecting to get free tickets again. My left-side seatmate already knew how he was going to use them. Let’s call him CK. A little conversation revealed that they’d been around since before the "Red" Trailer. Soon other people finally showed up and a guy in male!Blake cosplay (A.) ended up on my right after we all shifted down one to make room. A. was determined to get everyone to sing the intro again this year, because he’d gotten them to do it last year for Vol 2. Everyone around was just so psyched to be there and talk about RWBY ''. The long-haired guy wandered up and pointed to the seats in the far back, one behind us. “Is this entire back row really free?” Everyone assured him it was and he was like, “Cool,” before wandering off again. Several minutes later on there was a cheer, and I realized that Long-Haired Guy was talking to the whole audience, plastic beer cup still in hand. There was a girl and guy standing with him, and the girl definitely looked familiar. It seemed pretty clear that he was just trying to hype people up. He kept talking, saying something about how this year the lady promised him that the show would start on time. “He’s drunk…” I heard one of the kids to my left mutter. So I figured this fan being awesome needed support and I joined in after he got people to cheer. I shouted from the back, “Let’s hear it if you’re wearing some ''RWBY swag tonight!” “RAH!” went the audience. Long-Haired Guy nods. A: Does cosplay count? Me: Of course. The guy down front kept talking, but was nearly inaudible. I did catch something about an invitation to go to a specific bar afterward so we all go to one place. I’m thinking this is cool, but there’s no way I could make time for that with the drive I had ahead of me. Then he started talking about World of Remnant, but couldn’t remember the name or when the episodes came out. He had to ask the girl next to him, who knew the name, but not the release dates. So, like the helpful little wiki gal I am, I shouted the correct dates out. Yeah... After a bit more I-can’t-hear-what-he’s-saying, he asked if anyone had questions. Nothing. He asked more loudly. Then A. beside me stood right up, hand in the air. “What was it like working with Monty?” -.- o.o O.O I turned to the Condescending Kid on my other side. “Who is that?” CK: Jeff Williams. Fuck. And I’d interrupted him, loudly, twice. CK: Jeff Williams is— Me: I know who he is; I just didn't recognize him on sight! That's Casey next to him! Who's next to her?" CK: Don’t know. Me: I feel terrible now. Am I turning red? I bet I’m turning red. CK: A little bit, yeah. Part 2: Intermission Just after Yang vs. Mercury fight, the screen brought up intermission. Everyone expressed surprise, but then meandered. A. was really bummed that he didn’t get enough people to sing the opening song. I turned on my TracFone and told home that I definitely would not be back by 2am. Out and about, I chatted with a bunch more people, met more cosplayers, including Yatsuhashi. He had a sword too but left it in the car for safety. There’s a talkative DeviantArtist whose account is shut down. He’s got an OC that he’d wished he’d come cosplaying as so Jeff can get RT to make his OC canon. I headed back into the theater, where the screen was counting down from just under 3 minutes. At the edge of my row, just behind the large wall behind our seats, there’s this kid hip-hop dancing to the music like a bad ass and no one was watching. I didn’t sit down. I slapped A.’s knee and gestured with my chin, and I cheered. That’s when I recognized him as the guy who came with Casey. Suddenly more and more people were watching and we get a few more cheers in, because this guy was a sight to see. I tried to get a picture, but it was too dark. On the right beat, he walked sideways and gestured to Casey. Two beats later and she’s up there making it real just like him. Someone in the theater brightened the light above them, but no time for the camera. Just watch and enjoy. Which I did. Casey and her friend kicked ass on their makeshift dance floor. Part 3: After Show People formed a loose semicircle around the wall Casey and Jeff stood against. They took photos, answered questions, and autographed tickets. A. was hiding in the back waiting for his turn. Jeff and Casey were awesome: friendly, welcoming. Jeff especially was asking people about themselves. I waited awhile for my turn for a picture and Yatsuhashi got in on it with me. Other fans were like, hey, it’s her turn, but I told them to let him in, it was all good. We’d already made friendly anyway. I confirmed with Jeff the name of the bar, and that I hadn’t misheard from the back row. He also asked me my name and I answered Hazel… which, granted, isn’t very common. When he commented on it ("Hazel? That's uh... that's an unusual name.") I admitted my real name, but said that Hazel was my Wikia name and I was a staff member there. That caught a couple people’s attention and for a bit I was treated like an encyclopedia. I only didn’t know the answer to what anime Ruby’s cloak was a nod to when it does that stretching thing in the Character Short. (Is it alluding to an anime?) While more people moved on, I asked the two of them if they'd been assigned to be there that night. Nope, they just decided to come. Twice I tried to get A. to step forward for his turn, but he declined because he’d met Jeff last time and was good to wait. When it had pretty much thinned out I finally grabbed him by the wrist and sent him forward to get his picture taken. Awesomeness remains constantly awesome: Jeff remembered him. After it was time to move on, I approached Casey and asked if it was OK to ask her something. We walked out into the main lounge together and chatted about the anon who came onto the Wikia identifying herself as Sandy. Casey hadn’t heard about it but decided that it probably was her mom. She was also sweet enough to thank me for being on the Wikia before rejoining her friends. Outside the theater a handful of us just waited for Jeff to come back out after he’d been called inside again. When he did a guy named B. asked if we were walking or driving. Jeff: Well, I’d walk, but I like to look at my car. I chose to drive, too, because it felt the safer thing to do. It wasn’t until we got to the bar that I saw Jeff’s car… Part 4: The Bar So, Jeff Williams drives a really tiny bright yellow sports car. I believe the car is a Lotus. I arrived pretty much exactly the same time as everyone else. We all got to see Jeff and B. get out of his car. Tall and bulky, B. is not a tiny guy by any means. It was a definite visual, one that Ad., dressed as Neon Katt, was very amused with. Personally, I’m not into cars, but I could not get over looking at it and was definitely the last one in the tavern. What a sweet tavern, too. On the outdoor porch was a gathering of couches beside a long fire. We got there in time for some late snacks, but not many. Our waitress M. was just the sweetest thing. There were 10 of us altogether: me, S., C., Ch., Ad., Br., Jeff, E., B., and K., who is apparently also known as “Admin Mercury” on the Facebook RWBY Network. Ad. had a lot going on. She had a commemorative tattoo for every RT event she’d been to, and was at that point a friend of Jeff’s for at least two years. S. and C. were friends of hers, while the rest of us were lone wolves. We got settled in, ordered of the menus, and started chatting. On one of the long couches, Jeff sat three to my right while B. and E. sat to my left. E, sweet little chewable munchkin, asked me a lot of Wikia questions while B. just kept whispering to himself: “''I just rode in Jeff’s car.” When I discovered the bar had free Wi-Fi, it was time to let the Wikia staff know where I was and who I was with. Let’s just say that Phantomlink959 didn’t believe me at first and Gastropod suddenly tuned in from the 4am Never-Sleep Netherworld to fanboy. I gave a quick recap after they failed to accept my video call that had the whole party waving at the Wikia staff chat. I’m sure you’ll all understand that I closed out of the chat and mingled. B. snapped out of his “Is this real?” trance to move over to Jeff and ask RvB questions. I made my way to the floor by the coffee table to eat my food when it arrived. Distracted by nom-noms, I missed the intro but came in on a conversation not too long after. '''Take Hazel’s Word for It Trivia Point 1:' Jeff said that When It Falls is not about Ruby. He called what it’s actually about a fun mystery, one with the answer already out there. Some fans have figured it out. Jeff had a few come up to him and ask about it, and all he could do was stare back. It’s also gonna be really obvious, too, once we see it. There was lots of good conversation, jokes, and laughter. Jeff thought I was crazy to still have an hours-long drive home afterward. B. had a lot of excellent sketchwork he’d brought with him and revealed that the “vampire Pyrrha” that’s been getting circulated is his. (Tried briefly to track it down, but time. Will try again.) I did manage to ask my own question in all this, which I’ll put at the end. At some point I checked back into the staff chat to see that after I'd sent a picture earlier on, I'd had a curse cast upon me, a bargain offered, and there was even more fanboying. Chish had popped in and they were all working out WoR setup for the next day. I asked Phantom’s question and Jeff gave a sassy answer. He also added that we have bad information, clearly provided by his leftist extreme detractors, and that his actual year of birth is 1984. E. left us early on, but Jeff gave hugs all around when it came time to go. It was a really fun, relaxing time. Here is the one question I asked: Since we know of scenes cut from Vol 3, I asked if he had any compositions that also had to get cut because of script changes. He took a while to think of an answer, talking with others before coming back to me. “OK, your question.” Take Hazel’s Word for It Trivia Point 2: The Volume 4 Theme was actually written 2 years ago, based on Ruby's optimistic attitude for the Beacon Dance while everyone around her was "pissy." It just didn't have a place in "Dance Dance Infiltration", etc., got shelved though he kept pushing for it to find a home, and now it's the Volume 4 Theme. 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